Necessary Evil, Or
by hollihazelle
Summary: ... How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love a Supervillain. Ty Lee falls for a lethal lover with a significant secret, Mai plays with fire, Katara discovers the price of her blossoming superpowers, and they all learn that sometimes the monster is under the mask. AU for the TRF MonsterLover Challenge. Tyzula-centric with Maizai and Zutara.


**A/N:** This is a paranormal romance story focused on Tyzula but with strong, strong Maizai and Zutara. It's from the perspective of the superhero/supervillain's girlfriend—a common character in fiction—and is for a Tyzula Renaissance Forum challenge. It's in first person and switches POV three times a chapter. It's clearly marked and I promise that it will never switch more than thrice and that the POVs are all at _least_ 500 words. I chose first person because this is a character portrait in many ways and I wanted to go as deep inside the characters as possible while writing. I hope you enjoy!

 **.**

 **NECESSARY EVIL, OR**

 **How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love a Supervillain**

 **.**

 _"_ _People are not born heroes or villains; they're created by the people around them." — Chris Colfer_

 **.**

 ** _TY LEE_**

Everybody's the hero of their own story. Even the worst kinds of people who do really bad things think they're doing the world a favor.

I always wanted to stand out, and I guess this is how.

I'm not the hero of my own story. I don't have any powers like the people around me. I can't shoot lightning from my hands or create tsunamis from ponds. I can't crush cars with my bare hands. The people around me can do this stuff.

The sun I revolve around can burn brighter than a supernova. Literally.

Her name is Azula Nakamura and she's the hero of my story.

 **.**

Let's start at the beginning. I sometimes don't really know how it started, but I guess it's the day I met her.

I just graduated from high school and I was living in my first apartment. The minute I could get out of my parents' house, I did. It was crowded and there was a line for the shower. College was never on my mind. I was pretty sure it was just a scam to take people's money.

The newspaper was talking about the Blind Bandit again. Or maybe it was the Blue Spirit. It wasn't the Sapphire Supernova; she didn't exist yet. They were the city's—the world's—biggest mysteries. Everybody knew about heroes and villains, but nobody other than reporters and scientists wanted to talk about them.

I didn't really read the paper. Magazines and apps on my phone told me all the celebrity gossip and beauty tips I wanted to know. Hearing about terrorists and weirdos and superheroes wasn't what I liked to think about.

The headlines glared at me from a kiosk in front of the coffee shop. I was headed inside before work and the line was _so_ long. I was glad I got there early, because usually I was running really late.

A woman looked up at me from her laptop. She didn't fit in with all the hipsters and shabby businessmen. The morning sun shone through the window and illuminated her glossy raven hair, and her golden eyes were the strangest I had ever seen.

Before I could stop myself, I waved at her. It worked really well on _boys_ , but I felt like I did something really dumb when it came to a _woman_. I was about to sneak out of the coffee shop and grab some Starbucks instead before she waved back. Her nails were pretty scary and screamed _straight_ , so I did feel like a moron.

I got my coffee and walked out, trying not to make eye contact with beautiful girl who thought I was a socially awkward dummy. A teenager with tawny hair and a diamond shaped face walked up to me and handed me a slip of paper.

"That lady paid me to give you this." The girl and the sound of her bubblegum were gone before I could ask any more questions.

I unfolded the piece of newspaper and saw a phone number.

A smile snuck onto my face.

 **.**

I called her between clients at the hair salon.

It rang so many times that I thought I was going to die, but she finally picked up.

I was way too excited when she asked me out.

 **.**

 ** _MAI_**

We didn't bother taking our clothes off. He pushed up my shirt at some point, but his hands were occupied with pushing me up against the wall. I hated letting people know I was having fun, but I moaned when he slid inside of me, and my back scraped against the wallpaper again and again. I almost screamed but stopped myself. It was my superpower, and I liked making people work for it.

His fingers clenched the open doorway.

It was perfect until it was interrupted by a loudly ringing phone.

He almost dropped me, like he was debating if the call was more important than me. It was unsurprising, but we did finish before he adjusted his pants and went to check on it.

"I have to call him back," said my secret lover, and I shrugged.

"I should go anyway," I replied, smoothing my shirt and pulling up my torn black jeans. "We're running late."

We didn't say goodbye, and I didn't really care. I grabbed my bag, pulled on my leather jacket and left the pretty penthouse of an incredible rich industrialist who loved breaking the law on the side.

I wasn't alone on the elevator. The worst person imaginable got on a few floors down.

"Hey, Azula," I flatly said, crossing my arms.

"And you were at my house why?"

"I have a key and needed to borrow shoes. Your dad was home so I had to pretend I was looking for you and didn't get said shoes," I replied. Azula was the one who taught me to have an excuse before I needed it, and her own advice worked against her. "Why were you on a random floor of the building?"

"Lunch with a neighbor," said Azula. I had no idea if she was lying or not, and I didn't give a fuck either way.

"Going anywhere interesting now?" I hated small talk, but it had its place in the world. Like right now. Definitely like right now.

"Yes. To a club," Azula said and it took me a moment to realize she meant the place with drinks and dancing and not the place with books and sweaters.

It took me far less time to realize what she was implying. I said, "You're about to ask me to come with you, aren't you?"

"I texted you about it," snapped Azula. "You need to respond to me promptly."

I sighed, but I didn't protest. Azula controlled me my whole life and I was used to it by now.

"My phone was in the bottom of my bag. I'll guess I'll come."

"You are not properly dressed for the affair. I know I shouldn't be surprised by that, but if you _checked your phone_ you would be wearing something appropriate."

"I don't go places that won't let me wear old jeans and a leather jacket, and you know that."

"If you are with me they will allow you in anyway. I am meeting someone there, and you are to assist me if this date goes awry."

"Date? I thought you swore off women for the rest of your life."

"She's hot." Azula shrugged.

"Does she have a name?" I asked, tapping my foot on the slippery, shiny floor.

"Ty Lee. I met her at a coffee shop," said Azula. She sounded pleased with herself, which was not an uncommon tone of voice.

"How cliché," I dryly replied.

We stood in silence for a few moments.

"You need to borrow my perfume," Azula said, rummaging through her purse.

"You mean your cologne." I smirked.

"I think it smells better than perfume," Azula said yet again—she had justified it more than once—and huffily continued, "and _anything_ would smell better than your hair right now."

 _Because your dad was pulling on it,_ I considered saying. No one could know, especially Azula, and I was good at concealing the truth. I always believed the phrase that three could keep a secret if two are dead.

Especially secrets about fucking your best friend's married father.

 **.**

The club Chikara was exactly the kind of place I hated.

I often couldn't believe the things I did for Azula. If she was a superhero—or, more likely, villain—her power would be complete influence over others. Or to make a zombie army by calling them friends. But heroes and villains like that didn't exist—only ones who could burn down city blocks with a flick of their wrist or create a tornado out of nothing.

My stupid college science class I didn't want to take talked about a potential innate ability to do stuff like that, like some gene that was forgotten by time. I would have an opinion on the outbreak of weirdos in capes if I cared, but I didn't.

"She should be here," said Azula.

We passed the bouncer and stood inside. It had strobe lights. I fucking hated strobe lights, and most lights for that matter. I also hated fake smoke, the sound of other people's happiness, and the smell of a thousand gross perfumes.

Azula looked confident as she walked in and I thought I was off the hook. Of course, I was wrong. I was halfway to the bar before she tugged me back.

"There she is," said Azula, pointing at a woman in a pink dress.

Azula was right about one thing; she was _hot_. I might even sleep with her, and I wasn't interested in women. My attraction did die the moment I saw how many sequins were on her dress.

"Hi, Azula," Ty Lee said. She smiled so wide that I rolled my eyes.

"You two have fun. I'm going to be at the bar," I announced, unwilling to go back on it.

Azula cleared her throat and said, "You promised—"

"To be your third wheel?" I interrupted, more viciously than I was going for.

"I can find you a date," Azula snarled. I sighed. "Take your pick of guys here. They all look particularly desperate tonight."

"I'm not interested," I said, but I resigned myself to it.

Tonight would not be fun.

It really wasn't, because within two hours they ended up making out in the back hallway while I talked to some boring guy with a bad haircut.

Azula was quite literally the worst best friend in all of history.

 **.**

 ** _KATARA_**

I snuck into the gym after it was closed for the night.

Never in my life did I break rules, but I was a mess and needed to swim. Water was the only place I was truly comfortable, and the only place I could cope with my racing thoughts. It might have been a terrible place given what I was worrying about, but I didn't know where else to turn.

After tiptoeing through the building, I opened a chipped door and inhaled the scent of chlorinated water. I found the lights and gazed at the water. The bleachers were empty and the lack of splashing noises made it feel eerie.

I took off my shoes and then more hesitantly removed my clothes down to a bra and panties. Without a second thought, I leapt into the water and let it surround me like a cocoon. With my bright blue eyes closed, I surrendered to the waves my crash landing created.

Slowly, breathing out bubbles, I resurfaced. I breathed in and wiped the water from my eyelids. When I opened my eyes, I swam to the side of the pool and leaned my back against the cement. I took a slow breath and raised my hands.

I moved them back and forth and furrowed my brow, trying to focus. Waves began to poke up from the water, these not created by physics. I watched them and pushed in and out repeatedly, letting them grow until they burst and melted back into normal water.

Swallowing, I took one hand and raised a bubble. Higher and higher, I lifted it.

It was not my temperamental… powers that made the bubbly burst.

The door had opened, and the last person I expected walked in.

It was my brother. When I looked into his stunned eyes, I knew that he had seen what I could do.

I was more horrified now than I had ever been before in my life.

"W-what— _when_ —how long have you been able to do that?" Sokka stammered.

Frozen in place and shocked speechless, I could only stare back at him.


End file.
